The present invention relates to the field of processing bulk mail. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for scanning pieces of mail to determine the addresses on the mail and printing the corresponding POSTNET barcodes on the mail.
Bulk mail accounts for a significant portion of the mail delivered by the United States Postal Service. The post office offers reduced postage rates for mail that is pre-processed. Essentially, the United States Postal Service charges less postage if the sender makes it easier for the post office to deliver the mail. To qualify for reduced rates, the processed mail must meet certain criteria set forth in various postal regulations. These criteria include the features such as printing the POSTNET barcode on the pieces of mail and ensuring that the pieces have a clear zone that is free of printing.
Frequently, high-volume machines are employed to pre-process mail so that the mail qualifies for the reduced postage rates. These machines scan each piece of mail and attempt to read the address printed on each piece. If the address for a piece is read, the machine then prints the appropriate POSTNET barcode on the piece. However, often these machines reject many pieces because the address could not be read. This creates a significant volume of mail that typically is processed manually or using semi-automated techniques, both of which increase the cost of pre-processing the mail.
In light of the foregoing, the present invention provides an apparatus for processing mail. Preferably, the apparatus is particularly suited to process mail having information that is difficult to read during high-volume processing.
In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided, which includes an input bin for receiving a stack of mail. A feeder serially feeds pieces of mail from the input bin into a transport along a transport path. An imaging station disposed along a transport path is operable to scan the pieces of mail to obtain image data corresponding to at least a portion of each piece of mail. A buffer positioned along a transport path holds or maintains a piece of mail while the image data for the piece of mail is processed. An image processor processes the image data for the piece of mail to determine a characteristic of the piece of mail. The apparatus also includes a controller that is operable to control the transport to advance the piece of mail out of the buffer in response to the determination of the characteristic for the piece of mail.
Another aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for processing documents comprising a feeder operable to serially convey documents along a transport path. An imager disposed along the transport path is operable to scan documents to obtain a set of image data corresponding to documents. A processor is provided that is operable to analyze the image data to detect the presence of a characteristic. A labeler is also provided that is operable to selectively apply labels to documents having the characteristic.
The present invention also provides several methods for processing bulk mail. According to one method, a piece of mail is fed from a stack of mail into a mail path. The piece of mail is transported along the mail path and scanned to acquire image data corresponding to at least a portion of the piece of mail. The image data is processed to determine a characteristic of the piece of mail, and the piece of mail is maintained at a buffer along the mail path while the image data is processed. The piece of mail is then advanced away from the buffer after the characteristic is determined.
The present invention also provides a method for processing a plurality of documents, in which a plurality of documents are maintained within a buffer. Specifically, documents are serially fed from a stack into a transport path. The documents are scanned to acquire image data corresponding to at least a portion of the documents. The scanned documents are conveyed to a buffer, and a plurality of documents are maintained within the buffer. The image data for the plurality of documents in the buffer is analyzed while the documents are together in the buffer to determine a characteristic of each document in the buffer.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method for processing documents in which a document is scanned to determine a characteristic of the document. A label is adhered to the document and a marking is printed onto the document, such that the marking corresponds to the determined characteristic. Such a method could be utilized when processing either incoming or outgoing mail, in situations in which a clear zone is created to print a bar code or other indicia related to the recipient of the document.
Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a method for processing documents in which the documents are scanned to obtain a set of image data corresponding to the documents. The image data is analyzed to detect the presence of a characteristic. Labels are then selectively applied to documents having the characteristic.